2. G Victor Oladipo, Magic- An obvious second place. Gave Orlando exactly what they could have anticipated. He isn’t a point guard, but playing there this year should help his combo guard abilities for the future.

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM- Brutal rookie class. So bad that Dieng’s late season surge earns him this spot. Plumlee’s value to the Nets can’t be understated, as his play really contributed to their incredible turnaround.

G Michael Carter-Williams, Sixers

G Victor Oladipo, Magic

F Tim Hardaway Jr, Knicks

F Mason Plumlee, Nets

C Gorgui Dieng, Timberwolves

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER- I think this is the hardest award to decide on. I mean, I left off Kyle Lowry who has been instrumental in the Raptors best season ever! Andre Drummond and Terrance Jones each improved markedly in their second seasons. I decided on Green because his career was an after-thought and he became an absolute stud for the Suns this year.

1. SG Gerald Green, Suns

2. C DeAndre Jordan, Clippers

3. SG Lance Stephenson, Pacers

4. PG Goran Dragic, Suns

5. PF Anthony Davis, Pelicans

6TH MAN OF THE YEAR- Some good options, but Gibson has earned it as the best big off the bench in the entire league.

1. PF Taj Gibson, Bulls

2. G Jamal Crawford, Clippers

3. SG/SF Vince Carter, Mavericks

4. SG/SF Nick Young, Lakers

5. SG Manu Ginobli, Spurs

COACH OF THE YEAR- All of these men are worthy. I thought the Blazers would be a playoff team, but Stotts did a great job molding this group together and making them even better than I thought. Thibodeau continues to amaze, doing more with less each year. Hornacek did a helluva job guiding a team that I thought could be the West’s worst into the best example of why the NBA needs a new playoff format. Casey only took a Raptors team with ZERO expectations and converted them into the best team in franchise history and a division winner ahead of both NY outlets. Pop though gets it for being the best. Best team, best record, does it his way, and makes it work.

1. Greg Popovich, Spurs

2. Dwayne Casey, Raptors

3. Jeff Hornacek, Suns

4. Tom Thibodeau, Bulls

5. Terry Stotts, Blazers

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR- Wow, I think Noah will win it, but there are a lot of very good players in consideration.

1. Joakim Noah, Bulls

2. DeAndre Jordan, Clippers

3. LeBron James, Heat

4. Dwight Howard, Rockets

5. Andre Iguodala, Warriors

ALL-NBA 1ST TEAM ALL-NBA 2ND TEAM ALL-NBA 3RD TEAM

G Chris Paul G James Harden G Tony Parker

G Stephen Curry G Damien Lillard G Goran Dragic

F LeBron James F Blake Griffin F Dirk Nowitzki

F Kevin Durant F Kevin Love F Tim Duncan

C Joakim Noah C Al Jefferson C Dwight Howard

MVP- It’s been Durant’s award all year. This isn’t an anti-LeBron vote either. Durant was the best player in the NBA this year. LeBron was his usual terrific self. Griffin stepped up the way everyone wanted him to. He isn’t just about dunks anymore, although he still does that as well as anyone. Noah was unreal. Big Al answered all his critics. He got Charlotte into the playoffs. At #5 you could go elsewhere and it would be fine, but Jefferson stood out to me by being dominant every night.